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Jyn Erso Gets Her Own Star Wars Forces of Destiny Episode

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story heroine Jyn Erso has finally made her debut in Star Wars: Forces of Destiny episode 7. Erso, of course, is the new kid on the Star Wars block after being brought to life in stunning fashion by Felicity Jones in the 2016 blockbuster Rogue One. And while Jyn's time on the big screen begins and sadly ends with that film, Disney and Lucasfilm have wisely made her a part of Forces of Destiny, a 16-episode animated series that debuted on Disney's YouTube channel last week and premieres on TV's Disney Channel Sunday.

Jyn (voiced by Jones for the animated series as well) is latest and last of the females leads from the Star Wars films to get her own Forces of Destiny episode. The series kicked off with two episodes featuring Rey (voiced by Daisy Ridley), which were plugged into the timeline of The Force Awakens(Sands of Jakku and BB-8 Bandits); followed by a Princess Leia episode set in the timeline of Return of the Jedi with Ewok Escape.

Ahsoka Tano made her debut in episode 4 in The Clone Wars-inspiredThe Padawan Path, while Leia returned in the fifth episode, this time set in The Empire Strikes Back timeline for Beasts of Echo Base. Episode 6, meanwhile, combined characters from both The Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars animated series for The Imposter Inside, where Padme Amidala teamed with Ahsoka.

Titled The Stranger, the seventh Forces of Destiny episode finds Jyn encountering a young alien girl who just had her cat taken away by a pair of stormtroopers. Dismayed at how the stormtroopers treat the girl, Jyn says, "I suggest you pick on someone your own size," before she easily uses her combat skills to knock them both on the ground. But the soldiers of the evil Empire don't stay down for long and soon set foot after Jyn, who's determined to return the cat to the girl when all is said and done.

Without question, The Stranger has the most basic plot of all the Forces of Destiny episodes so far, but that doesn't mean its story has any less meaning. After all, the creative forces behind the animated shorts made clear that the series would focus on the "everyday heroics" of the characters, and in this case, Jyn is involved in a story that conveys a message of kindness as she rights a wrong for a young girl that she doesn't even know. Since the Forces of Destiny shorts were designed with young female audiences in mind, the basic message of The Stranger clearly imparts the basic ideals the show is striving for.

With Forces of Destiny almost at the halfway mark already, it will interesting to see what shape the series takes for final nine episodes. Since Rey, Leia, and Ahsoka have each been featured in two episodes each already, surely there will be more adventures for Padme and Jyn ahead. As to how much they will relate to their specific movie timelines is yet to be seen, but judging by the production of the first seven episodes, the creators are no doubt intent on keeping the fans of the Star Wars saga to date interested, while they hopefully gain new admirers in the process.